Mark Stein, a former prosecutor and seasoned trial lawyer, has represented public companies, boards, and individuals in criminal and regulatory investigations involving allegations of financial fraud, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, insider trading, money laundering and antitrust conspiracies over the past twenty years. These representations regularly involve investigations by the United States Department of Justice, the SEC, the CFTC, and numerous state attorneys general.
Mark has represented financial institutions, boards, special committees, and individual officers in virtually all of the major industry-wide criminal and regulatory financial investigations, including those involving: mortgage-backed securities, LIBOR, FX trading, subprime asset disclosure, market timing, IPO allocations, research analyst conflicts, insurance brokerage arrangements, tax shelters and options backdating.
Mark has also represented numerous public companies and boards in government and internal investigations in connection with alleged violations of corruption in locations around the globe including: Angola, Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and the Ukraine. In a recent high-profile appointment, Mark was designated by the DOJ as the Monitor to Avon Products, Inc., following a settlement arising out of a long-standing FCPA investigation.
In addition, Mark has frequently represented financial, pharmaceutical and industrial companies in connection with whistle-blower allegations. In those matters, Mark has conducted investigations, advised clients on appropriate remedial steps, and has interacted with the DOJ, SEC and other government regulators to resolve the allegations. In addition, he frequently reviews company compliance programs and policies, and provides recommendations for improvement.
Previously, Mark had significant representations in the historic investigations involving Adelphia, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Enron, Lloyds and AIG. In addition, he has extensive experience in investigations involving antitrust violations–in particular bid-rigging and price-fixing, insider trading, money laundering and tax evasion.
As a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel, Mark has extensive trial experience as defense counsel in federal criminal cases and has achieved a high percentage of acquittals. He also handles a broad range of civil litigation, including related actions that proceed or follow parallel governmental investigations.
From 1989 through 1994, Mark served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, ending his tenure there as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division. While at the U.S. Attorney’s office, he was involved in the investigation and prosecution of significant white-collar cases, and in trying numerous cases of securities fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. Mark was lead counsel in 17 jury trials, obtaining convictions in each of them.
In 1994, he served as an Assistant in the Office of the Independent Counsel for the Whitewater investigation involving allegations concerning the Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan in Arkansas and members of the Clinton administration.
Mark is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is consistently recognized by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation as a leading practitioner in the area of white-collar crime and government investigations and has been recognized as “an excellent white-collar lawyer who is deeply experienced, smart and strategic.” He is a frequent panel speaker on issues concerning governmental and internal investigations.
Mark is admitted to the bar in New York and to practice before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He received his J.D. in 1983 from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was Senior Editor of the Law Review, and his B.A. in 1980 from the State University of New York at Albany. From 1983 to 1984, he served as a law clerk for the Hon. Thomas P. Griesa in the Southern District of New York.